


Sick Day

by DragonHeartstring360



Series: Inheritance Cycle [5]
Category: The Inheritance Cycle - Christopher Paolini
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Gen, Head Cold, Hurt/Comfort, Other, Sick Character, Tension Headaches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-18
Updated: 2019-07-18
Packaged: 2020-06-30 12:53:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19853584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonHeartstring360/pseuds/DragonHeartstring360
Summary: Imagine Murtagh taking care of you when you're sick.





	Sick Day

**Author's Note:**

> Featuring Rider!Reader and their dragon, who help teach students on Eragon's Riders' Academy on Vroengard, along with Saphira, Thorn and Murtagh. Y/N: your name. D/N: dragon's name. You can follow me on tumblr @murtagh-thorn. Comments and kudos are greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading!

You sat atop D/N’s back struggling to keep your eyes open as Eragon finished up his demonstration to the students. Thankfully, your part in the demonstration was done.

_You should really take a day to yourself_ , D/N said, their voice laced with concern. _You don’t want to faint_.

You took a deep breath, locking eyes with Murtagh across the field. He leaned leisurely against Thorn’s side, gazing at you with worry. You tried to send him a reassuring smile, but it probably looked more like a grimace. Your head felt stuffy and your eyes felt tired and sore. You might not have a cold per say, but you definitely weren’t well either. The headache had started yesterday and had been so horrible that it had kept you in bed the rest of the day. Thankfully, your and D/N’s duties were done, but it was nothing so serious as to need a healer.

_I think you_ do _need a healer_ , D/N protested as you swayed dangerously on their back. _You’ve been too stressed and pushing yourself too hard lately. You’re barely sleeping, you’re not eating nearly enough—_

_I’m_ fine _, I promise_ , you replied. _It’s probably just a head cold. It’ll be gone by the morning._

_Not if you don’t rest, it won’t_.

_D/N, I’m…_ you trailed off as the world suddenly spun around you. The only thing that saved you from falling off D/N’s saddle were the straps holding your legs in place. You felt D/N and Saphira communicating, but didn’t pay close attention to what they were saying as you squeezed your eyes shut. D/N suddenly lurched forward beneath you and it took all your restraint not to vomit. You pressed your forehead against the cool scales of your dragon’s neck, not caring how many students were watching anymore. The vertigo finally ceased, but you felt exhausted. You considered even going to sleep on D/N’s back. You didn’t have the energy to make it to your quarters yourself.

“Y/N?”

You finally pried your eyes open, turning your head to see a concerned Murtagh gently squeezing your hand and unbuckling your leg straps. Thorn even reached over and gently undid the other strap with his teeth. Seeing Murtagh’s wide open arms, you let yourself fall ungracefully from the saddle.

Murtagh cradled you close to him for a moment. “What’s wrong, my love?”

“My head,” you mumbled into his shoulder.

“You’re all right, I’ve got you.” He gently kissed your hair before marching off towards the buildings in the distance and you let yourself fall into sleep.

* * *

You awoke with more pounding in your head and groaned quietly. The pounding had changed to localize onto one specific spot on top of your head. Although the sun showed that it was many hours later, you still felt exhausted. You rubbed some pressure onto the area that hurt the most and sank further into the soft bed beneath you. 

“Is that where it hurts? Where you’re rubbing?” a familiar voice asked next to you.

You carefully looked up, thankful for the dim light in the room, to see Murtagh laying on the bed beside you, a book in his hand. He quickly placed the bookmark and put the book on the bedside table. He had drawn the curtains and dimmed all the candles in your room. Some daylight spilled in through your cracked bedroom door and you merely nodded, sinking back into the pillow and leaning your forehead against Murtagh’s arm.

Gentle fingers stroked your hair. “The healer brought up some tea and a warm towel for your neck. You gave us quite a scare.”

“Did I look that bad?” you muttered, surprised to find your voice like gravel.

“White as a sheet and about to pass out would definitely qualify as ‘that bad,’ I would think, love.” He pressed a lingering kiss to your forehead. “The towel’s been sitting by the fire and should be warm by now. Would you like it now?”

You nodded, glancing over at the fireplace just long enough to ascertain the meagre flames that rose up. Murtagh slowly slipped off the bed and you whined in protest, clinging to his hand. 

He chuckled, his voice low and quiet in the shadows. “I’ll be right back.”

A few moments later, he returned, helping you to sit up and wrapping the hot towel around the back of your neck. You sighed at the relief.

“Is that too hot?”

You smirked. “No, but you are.”

He snorted. “Bad pickup lines even when you’re sick. Why am I not surprised?”

You smiled weakly. “What did the healer say?”

Murtagh settled back on the bed beside you, his fingers returning to your hair. “That you’ve been pushing yourself too hard and your back, shoulders and neck are covered with knots. You need a massage, more sleep and to make sure you’re getting plenty of food and water every day.” He paused. “Please don’t push yourself so hard, my love. You need to rest. Eragon’s given us the next few days off so you can recover.”

“But I have too much to do—”

Murtagh silenced you with a gentle kiss. “No, you need to rest and get better. I’m going to stay with you and help.”

You sighed. “Well, I _suppose_ if I get to stay in bed with you for the next few days, it’s not so terrible.”

He smiled. “That’s the spirit.” He shuffled further down on the bed so he was laying on his back, his head propped up against the throw pillows. He gently patted his chest, holding his arm out for you. You didn’t hesitate to press your face into his chest, his heartbeat thumping in your ear as his arms came around you. His hands gently found all the knots in your back and began massaging them out. You sighed and sank further into his embrace. Maybe taking a few sick days wouldn’t be so bad after all.


End file.
